Full fashioned hosiery knitting



Feb. 11, 1936.

H. B. SNADER 2,030,477

FULL FASHIONED HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE Original Filed July 10, 1933Howard .29. 5Jzader V Patented Feb. 11, 1936 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFlCEFULL FASHIONED HOSIERY KNITTING MACHINE Howard B. Snader, Temple, -Pa.,assignor to Vanity Fair Silk Mills, Reading, Pa., a corporat ion ofPennsylvania This invention relates to improvements in full fashionhosiery knitting machines and it is a di-.

vision of my co-pending application Serial No. 679,805, filed July 10,1933. Said application describes and claims a full fashioned hose havinga strain absorbing zone between the knee and welt comprising courses ofcovered elastic rubber thread integrally knit with the adjacent portionsof the stocking and which are knit from a different and less elasticthread. The change from inelastic to elastic and back to inelasticthread necessitates that a covered elastic rubber thread be presented tothe needle bar periodically and withdrawn therefrom at pointscorresponding to the beginning and ending of the rubber elastic courses,and that the stitch length be adjusted at the beginning of the knittingof the elastic courses, and adjusted back again when the knitting of therelatively inelastic thread is resumed. Known knitting machines are notadapted for this purpose. Theymust be stopped and a slow adjustment madebefore any change in the length of the stitch can be effected. Thismakes it impracticable to knit the hose of my 25 aforementionedapplication with a knitting ma chine as at present constructed, but bythe present invention the knitting of such hosiery becomes eminentlypracticable.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide means for feeding theelastic rubber thread to the needle bar and means fordetermining thelimits of the courses through which it is fed.

Another object of the invention relates to quick means for adjusting thestitch length at the beginning and end of the elastic courses.

Other objects of the invention will appear as the following descriptionof a preferred and practical embodiment thereof proceeds.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of the followingspecification, and through out the several figures of which the samecharac-= ters of reference have been employed to denote identical parts:

Figure 1 is a. perspective view showing the feeding mechanism for theelastic rubber thread;

Figure 2 is a. cross section through certain parts of the feedingmechanism;

Figure 3 is a detail view partly in section and partly in verticalelevation showing the yielding spool holding mechanism;

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the means for making quickadjustment of the stitch length and appurtenant parts;

Figure 5 is a cross section through the adjusting mechanism; and

1 Claim. (6]. 66-432) Figure .6 is a section taken along the line 6-4 ofFigure 5.

Referring now in detail to the several figures, Figure 1 shows means forautomatically feeding the covered latex rubber thread and forcontrolling its tension and f bringing it into and out of action. Thismech nism which is applied as an adjunctive to the regular knittingmachine comprises an oscillating bar I which extends 1ongitudinally oftheentire knitting machine, but only enough of which is shown here toserve one station. This bar is kept normally biased in the unreelingposition by means of a spring 2 anchored at one end to any fixture andat the other to a lever 3 secured to the bar I. A constantly rotatingshaft 4 extends lengthwise of the entire machine, the function of whichis to effect -the positive unreeling of the covered elastic thread fromthe spool 5, it being understood that a spool is provided for eachstation. The spool is journally mounted between. the arms 6 of a bracket1! connected to the bar I and partaking of the oscillatory movementsthereof. The spool may be provided with a spindle, the projecting ends8, one of which is shown, being received in her i it until clearance isobtained for the opposite v end of the spindle, whereupon pressure uponthe end t may be released and the spring it behind the depressible seatit will hold the spool from 3 accidental displacement. A driving elementI2 on the shaft 5 imparts rotation to the spool.

The knitting machine is provided with a shaft l3 reciprocating endwisethrough a distance corresponding to the width of the stocking blank. Forthe purpose of the'present invention, cam plates i4 and i5 are mountedon said shaft at the ends of 'lugs it and H formed on the sleeves i8 andi9 which are adjustably secured to the shaft by'means such'as the setscrews 20. The cam plates have inclined edges 2! and 22 adapted toengage levers 23 and 24 adjustably mounted on the oscillating bar I.When the shaft l 3 moves to the leftward the lever 23 is rocked. whichoscillates the bar i and draws the conical spool out of contact with thedriving element l2. This interrupts the feeding of the latex thread fromthe spool l2 and takes place at one of the limits of the elastic zone ofthe stocking. When the shaft l3 has reciprocated to its limit in theopposite direction, the inclined edge 22 of the cam engages the .lever24 and again oscillates the bar I withdrawing the spool from itsoperative relation to the element l2 and interrupting the feed at theopposite end of the elastic zone of the stocking. Between these limitsthe bar I is drawn back under the bias of the spring 2 maintaining therotating mechanism for the spool 5 in engagement with the element l2,feeding the latex.

A bar 25 is mounted in front of the sinker heads of the knittingmachine, slidable longitudinally and supports a carrier 26. Thread fromthe spool 6 is passed through a tensioning device 21 of usualconstruction, including the weight 28 in the form of a ring throughwhich the covered latex thread is looped, the thread then passingthrough suitable apertures in the carrier. The bar 25 is disconnectablycoupled to the reciprocating shaft l3 by means of a latch 29 mounted ona friction sleeve 30 which surrounds the shaft 13 and is displaceableboth circumferentially and longitudinally of said shaft, but whichnormally is held frictionally to said shaft so as to reciprocatetherewith. The latch 29 fits into a keeper 3| on the sliding bar 25 fromwhich it may be lifted by means of a handle 32 when it is desired thatthe bar 25 shall not operate. The carrier passes along the row. ofneedles in the needle bar and supplies the covered latex thread to saidneedles.

' The mechanism which changes the length of the stitch at the beginningand end of the elastic courses is shown in Figures 4, 5 and 6,inclusive, and it concerns itself with the adjustability of the camroller 33 relative to the actuating cam 34 by means of which the rangeof oscillation of the shaft 35 is varied, giving greater or less forwardmovement to the needle bar 36. It is of course elemental to thoseskilled in the art that it is the forward movement of the needles whichlengthens the loops of the thread. customarily, the adjustment is madeby moving the cam roller toward or away from the cam by looseningcertain nuts at the ends of the pin on which the roller revolves andtranslating said pin forwardly or backward through the action of certainset screws.

In the ordinary operation of knitting full fashioned hosiery, it isnever necessary to change this adjustment unless the looseness orfineness of the mesh has to be changed, that is to say, for differentlots or styles of stocking and the complication of the adjustment is notvital in view of the infrequency within which it has to bemade. In thepresent instance however where it is necessary to start out with arelatively small stitch length, to increase this stitch length at thebeginning of the knitting of the covered rub ber thread, and to decreaseit again at the end of the knitting of the rubber thread, the need for aquick adjustment becomes imperative.

The present invention therefore contemplates a simple and efllcientadjusting mechanism comprising a pin 31 adapted to pass through aiinedapertures in the sides of the eye of the needle bar arm 38. An eccentricbushing 39 is fixed to said pin within said eye and affords a journalfor the cam roller 33. The collar 40 is exemplary of any known means forretaining the pin 31 against slipping endwise through the apertures inthe sides of the eye of the needle bar arm, and a handle 4| on theopposite end of said pin permits rotation of the pin so as angularly todisplace the eccentric bushing 39 bringing its throw closer to orfarther away from the cam 34 and thus advancing or retracting the camroller 33 with respect to said cam. A balidetent 42 or other equivalentdetaining means may be provided for fixing the handle in any desiredposition of adjustment.

While I have in the above disclosure described what I believe to bepreferred and practical improvements inknitting machines and in theknitted product for which the improvements are particularly designed, itis to be understood that the specific details of construction as shownand described are merely by way of; example and not to be construed aslimiting the scope of the invention as claimed.

What I claim is:

Stitch length adjusting means for knitting ma chines comprising incombination, an actuating cam, a needle bar arm having an eye with itsopening in the plane of rotation of said actuating cam, of a journalmounted eccentrically in the eye of said needle bar arm, a cam rollerrevolubly mounted on said journal, and a handle including 'a detent forholding the handle in any position to which it may be shifted, forshifting the throw of said eccentric journal to vary the distance of theaxis of rotation of said roller from the cam which determines forwardand backward movement of said needle bar.

HOWARD B. SNADER.

